On this day in television history - Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss (2023):

Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss

documentary directed by Niharika Desai,

written by Eric Weiner,

based on the book by Eric Weiner,

was released in the United States on May 18, 2023.

Cast:

Rainn Wilson, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Ari Meyers, Jón Gnarr, Georgi Gospodinov, Ivo Dimchev, Hreimur Örn Heimisson, Margaret Liefsdóttir, Tinna Thorlacius, Jewells Chambers.

On this day in television history - Justified (2010):

Justified

Season 1. Episode 10.

Episode entitled: The Hammer.

Released May 18, 2010.

Directed by John Dahl.

Written by Graham Yost, Fred Golan, Wendy Calhoun and Chris Provenzano.

Based on the short story Fire in the Hole by Elmore Leonard.

Music by Steve Porcaro.

Cast:

Timothy Olyphant, Nick Searcy, Joelle Carter, Jacob Pitts, Erica Tazel, Natalie Zea, Stephen Root, Doug E. Doug, Jenni Blong, Sean Bridgers, Brad Carter, Darin Heames, David Meunier, Walton Goggins, John Ainsworth, Jackson Bridgers, Gary Cairns, Dean Chekvala, Mel Fair, Pilar Holland, Peggy Stewart, Josh Wingate, David Dossett, David Hill.

On this day in music history:

Project by Lee Aaron (1984)

Wings by 2002 (1999)

Equilibrium by Kerani (2015)

Auriga to Orion by Majestica / aka Sherry Finzer & Cass Anawaty (2018)

Project

Album by Lee Aaron,

released May 18, 1984.

Track list: Under Your Spell; Lonely for You Love; Night Riders; Texas Outlaw; I Like My Rock Hard; I Just Wanna Make Love to You; Runnin’ from His Love; Should Have Known; Took Your Heart Away; Under the Stars [Live].

Wings

Album by 2002,

released May 18, 1999.

Track list: Once In Ancient Greece; A Year And A Day; The Sands Of Crete; Icarus; Athens Memories; The Tower Of Monos; Wings; Feathers; Templo Of Apollo.

Equilibrium

Album by Kerani,

released May 18, 2015.

Track list: Equilibrium; Fragrant Mountain; Anchoress; Bouddica, Heart on Fire; Hypatia’s Universe; O, Aeterne Deus; Lady’s Grace; Avane; The Wyse Wytch.

Auriga to Orion

Album by Majestica,

aka Sherry Finzer & Cass Anawaty,

released May 18, 2018.

Track list: Alpha Orionis; Kesil’s Light; Monte Alban; Auriga To Orion; Dark Years Away; Chasing The Leonids; Flaming Star.

On this day in movie history - Travis McGee (1983 movie & novel):

Travis McGee

directed by Andrew V. McLaglen,

written by Stirling Silliphant,

based on the novel The Empty Copper Sea by John D. MacDonald,

was released in the United States on May 18, 1983.
Music by Jerrold Immel.

Cast:

Sam Elliott, Gene Evans, Barry Corbin, Richard Farnsworth, Geoffrey Lewis, Amy Madigan, Vera Miles, Katharine Ross, Marshall R. Teague, Walter Olkewicz, Jack Murdock, Greta Blackburn, Owen Orr, Pilar Del Rey.

Recommended reading:

The Empty Copper Sea

By John D. MacDonald.

Introduction by Lee Child.

Filmed as Travis McGee (1983), directed by Andrew V. McLaglen.

# 17 in the Travis McGee series.

Published by Random House Trade Paperbacks.

First published 1978.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0812984080

ISBN-13: 978-0812984088

Description:

“John D. MacDonald is a shining example for all us in the field. Talk about the best.” – Mary Higgins Clark.

From a beloved master of crime fiction, The Empty Copper Sea is one of many classic novels featuring Travis McGee, the hard-boiled detective who lives on a houseboat.

Asking for help is something a proud man like Van Harder would never do. So when he shows up at the Busted Flush, Travis McGee knows that he must be the man’s last resort. What Harder wants salvaged is his reputation. After a long career as a seaman, he was piloting a boat the night his employer fell overboard. Harder is certain he’s been set up, but to help him, McGee must prove that a dead man is actually alive.

The fateful ride started with Harder at the helm of Hubbard Lawless’s luxury cruiser. It ends with him coming to, fuzzy and disoriented, and Hub lost to the water. Now everyone is saying that Harder got drunk, passed out, and is negligent in his boss’s death. The thing is, Van’s not a drinker . . . at least, not anymore.

Who would want to frame the good captain, and to what end? Dead or alive, Lawless is worth a lot of money. People are always eager to get a piece of that action – including some, as McGee soon finds, who are willing to take a piece out of anyone who gets in their way.

Features a new Introduction by Lee Child.

On this day in movie history - French Connection II (1975):

French Connection II

directed by John Frankenheimer,

written by Alexander Jacobs, Robert Dillon, Laurie Dillon and Pete Hamill,

based on the story by Robert Dillon and Laurie Dillon,

was released in the United States on May 18, 1975.
Music by Don Ellis.

Cast:

Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Bernard Fresson, Philippe Léotard, Ed Lauter, Charles Millot, Jean-Pierre Castaldi, Cathleen Nesbitt, Samantha Llorens, André Penvern, Reine Prat, Raoul Delfosse, Ham Chau Luong, Jacques Dynam, Malek Kateb, Pierre Collet, Alexandre Fabre, Jean-Pierre Zola, Manu Pluton, Daniel Vérité, Jean-Marc Allègre, Roland Blanche, Patrick Bouchitey, Philippe Brizard, Marie-Christine Descouard, Paul Mercey, Hal Needham, Ambroise Perrin.

Born on this day – Diane McBain:

Diane McBain

Actress

May 18, 1941 – December 21, 2022

Credits:

77 Sunset Strip (1959–1963); A Distant Trumpet (1964); Airwolf (1984); Arrest and Trial (1964); Barbary Coast (1975); Batman (1966–1967); Besotted (2001); Black Gold (1962); Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1965); Bourbon Street Beat (1960); Burke's Law (1964–1965); Cab to Canada (1998); Charlie's Angels (1979–1981); Claudelle Inglish (1961); Crazy Like a Fox (1985); Dallas (1978); Dateline: Hollywood (1967); Days of Our Lives (1982–1984); Donner Pass: The Road to Survival (1978); Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1998); Eight Is Enough (1981); Five the Hard Way (1969); General Hospital (1988); Hawaii Five-O (1980); Hawaiian Eye (1962–1963); Here's Hollywood (1962); Huyendo del halcón (1973); I Sailed to Tahiti with an All Girl Crew (1969); Ice Palace (1960); Invisible Mom II (1999); Jake and the Fatman (1990); Knight Rider (1985); Kraft Suspense Theatre (1964); Land of the Giants (1970); Lawman (1960); Legend of the Wild (1981); Love, American Style / Love and the Roommate (1969); Mannix (1970); Marcus Welby, M.D. (1976); Mary, Mary (1963); Maryjane (1968); Matt Houston (1983); Maverick (1959); Mod Squad (1971); Once Upon a Starry Night (1978); Parrish (1961); Police Story (1974); Puppet Master 5 (1994); Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996); Skip E. Lowe Looks at Hollywood (1978–2014); Spinout (1966); Strong Medicine (2001); Stu's Show (2014); Sugarfoot (1960); Surfside 6 (1960–1962); The 18th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1961); The 20th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1963); The 32nd Annual Academy Awards (1960); The Alaskans (1960); The Bob Hope Show (1959–1965); The Bob Hope Vietnam Christmas Show (1966); The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy (2000); The Caretakers (1963); The Christmas Path (1998); The Cross-Wits (1976); The Deathhead Virgin (1974); The Definitive Elvis: The Hollywood Years - Part II: 1962-1969 (2002); The Delta Factor (1970); The Karate Killers (1967); The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams (1978); The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1965–1967); The Mini-Skirt Mob (1968); The Red Fury (1984); The Streets of Beverly Hills (1992); The Unbeatable Bruce Lee (2001); The Wide World of Mystery (1974); The Wild Season (1971); The Wild Wild West (1965–1967); The Young and the Restless (1999); Thunder Alley (1967); To Rome with Love (1970); Vacation Playhouse (1965); Valentine's Day (1964); Wendy and Me (1964); Wicked, Wicked (1973); You Don't Say (1965).

Born on this day – Elizabeth Rogers:

Elizabeth Rogers

Actress

May 18, 1934 – November 6, 2004

Credits:

A Sensitive, Passionate Man (1977); Adventures of the Queen (1975); An Officer and a Gentleman (1982); Bewitched (1971); Bittersweet Love (1976); Bonanza (1965–1967); Dr. Kildare (1965); Dragnet 1966 (1969); Dragnet 1967 (1968); Falcon Crest (1984); Flood (1976); Goldie and the Boxer (1979); Grand Theft Auto (1977); Gunsmoke (1966); Hanging by a Thread (1979); Lacy and the Mississippi Queen (1978); Land of the Giants (1969); Little House on the Prairie (1981); Mannix (1969); Marcus Welby, M.D. (1970); Medical Center (1970); Outrage! (1986); Slattery’s People (1965); Something Evil (1972); Star Trek (1967–1969); The Night the Bridge Fell Down (1980); The Poseidon Adventure (1972); The Swarm (1978); The Time Tunnel (1966); The Towering Inferno (1974); The Van (1977); The Waltons (1975); The Yellow Rose (1984).